Page 4 of Drawn to the Mountain Man

“I’m twenty-three,” she said. “I’ll be twenty-four in September. How old are you?”

I hadn’t expected that question. “Thirty-five. Is that too old?”

Her eyebrows arched. “Too old for what?”

My question had slipped out, but her tone was downright flirtatious. I had to once again calm down my dick. It turned out her flirting got me hard.

“I didn’t know whether you had a maximum age when it came to the men you date,” I said.

She reached out her right hand and let the water from the waterfall cascade over it. I’d been inching toward her, whether she noticed it or not. My goal was to get within touching distance again.

“What makes you think I’m available?” she asked. “I could be married or engaged.”

“No ring. Although I guess that doesn’t mean you’re available.”

“You looked for a ring?” she asked.

She took a step closer to me. I tried not to get my hopes up that she’d done it on purpose.

“You bet,” I said. “And it wasn’t easy either. You’ve barely lifted your left hand above water the whole time I’ve been here.”

She lifted her hand and looked at it. Completely bare. There could be plenty of other reasons for that. Maybe she took her ring off to sleep at night and didn’t put it on this morning before she stormed off from the campsite where she and her friends were staying.

“I’m available,” she said and lifted her gaze to my face. “You?”

“Single as it gets.” What the fuck did that mean? “I’ve been waiting all my life for a woman like you.”

That was…a lot. Blurting out those words could scare her off.

I held my breath, waiting for her eyes to widen and her expression to harden. She might even jump out of the pond, throw on her clothes, and make me keep my eyes closed throughout the process. Then I’d kick myself for the rest of my life for blowing it.

But if that happened, I’d find a way to win her back. As long as there was hope, I’d figure it out.

She didn’t budge. Instead, she stood there staring at me. For a long moment, I wondered if she’d even heard me. I was about eight feet away from her now, and the waterfall was loud.

“How do you know what kind of woman I am?” she finally asked.

Was it my imagination, or had she taken a step closer to me? She sure seemed closer, and I hadn’t moved. My feet were firmly rooted in the mud beneath me. I didn’t even bother calming myself down this time. She couldn’t see the bulge in my underwear anyway, so did it really matter?

“Just a feeling I had the second I met you,” I said. “There’s something about you that?—”

I didn’t finish that sentence. There weren’t words for this thing I felt for Olivia.

“Attraction,” she said. “Yes, I feel it too.”

She took a step toward me. My heart was racing, and blood was rushing to my groin. This time, I did reach down and adjust myself, mostly to relieve some of the discomfort.

“It’s not just that you’re hot,” she said. “It’s like something’s pulling me toward you.”

I took a tentative step closer, water sloshing around my body as I moved. “Like a magnet,” I said. “There’s no fighting it.”

“A magnet,” she repeated.

Her gaze dropped to my mouth, and we were close enough that I felt the charge in the air between us. Was that what they meant by sparks?

Finally, she took a step closer. There was no fighting it anymore. I moved toward her, wrapping my arms around her at the same time she rose on tiptoe and lifted her face toward mine. Our mouths met in a kiss that immediately pulled a groan from her.

My tongue snaked out, sliding into her mouth as I tightened my hold on her. I echoed her moan at the feel of her breasts against my chest. She pulled away from the kiss and gave me a teasing smile as she stepped back and grabbed my hand, tugging me toward the waterfall.

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